There are things that I want to remember from these days of teaching. I try to grasp them in my mind as if this won't always be the life that I have, -- though I can't really see anything else for me -- as if by holding onto them tightly, they can shield me against the cold, hard days.
Yesterday during Nepali club, we tried to run an organized meeting with an agenda where we DECIDED THINGS. No one was interested and you could hear it in the fading pleads for attention from my leader. I could feel it in the weariness of my own looks around the room.
So, a small group huddled around me -- I was sitting on top of a desk in the back of the room -- and we discussed what she had wanted to discuss. It was productive while the others did homework or played on their ipads.
A student sat next to me on top of the desk as I teased another about a music video that he starred in with a certain girl, which premiered at a Deepawali celebration on Saturday. It opened the door to tease him a little bit more as he told me who his actual girlfriend was -- a different girl who was in the room, but about as far way from him as she could get. Then we talked about why I didn't take a seat of honor at the celebration -- reasons that were as much from embarrassment as they were from not wanting to make another thing about me, a white person. That, too, involved a little teasing as there was miscommunication that caused me to not understand what was happening at the celebration.
Then I asked questions -- mostly about how it was that they came to be refugees and if they considered themselves Nepali or Bhutan and what all of that means. There would be an explosion of language flying around me, and maybe eventually an answer came my way.
More than most other things we have tried to do in the club, this felt worthwhile -- they have stories that are worth knowing and are beautifully complicated and take time to unravel. I see them once every other week for an hour and often it can feel like just another thing to do on my overwhelming list. But, they don't have a lot of other adults in the building to support them the way that other groups have leaders or liasons -- as the advisor of their club, though most of the time I feel a little lost and very humbled, I have the special privilege of listening to them, of being a connection that makes the school feel a little less big.
It was a simple string of moments, sitting on a desk, surrounded by a huddle of students.
It was probably insignificant to the students
involved, but for me, they put so much of the humanity into teaching. It
reminds me that we're not work-producing machines -- any of us, and
that sometimes a moment to breathe is all that really matters.
These are the moments to live for, to celebrate, to cultivate.
Showing posts with label teaching. Show all posts
Showing posts with label teaching. Show all posts
Tuesday, November 10, 2015
Thursday, October 8, 2015
what I am proud of
We're practicing tone words in two of my classes.
Today's quickwrite gave a couple of options to talk about music with a zealous or tranquil tone. If they didn't want to listen to music, they could write about what makes them proud of themselves. I thought they'd like the music prompts so I assumed they wouldn't really write anything.
Then I made them share with the entire class.
Almost every student in both hours shared something they were proud of.
Once again -- for the hundredth,
the thousandth time, I am
surprised and
pleased and
humbled by
these students.
I don't really know
what I'm doing,
but I think it's working.
Today's quickwrite gave a couple of options to talk about music with a zealous or tranquil tone. If they didn't want to listen to music, they could write about what makes them proud of themselves. I thought they'd like the music prompts so I assumed they wouldn't really write anything.
Then I made them share with the entire class.
Almost every student in both hours shared something they were proud of.
Once again -- for the hundredth,
the thousandth time, I am
surprised and
pleased and
humbled by
these students.
I don't really know
what I'm doing,
but I think it's working.
Tuesday, September 1, 2015
teaching tuesday on being believed in
When I was in college, I had a literature professor who was really great. His assessments were fair, his lessons impassioned, and his enthusiasm infectious. The care that he had for his students was clear. He helped me process information and broaden the little world that I inhabited. That class made me hungry for more. I felt smart and confident in trying.
I had several other college professors that did not deliver the same experience for me. Theirs were classes that I dreaded and felt lost in -- I wasn't encouraged to take risks and often was instead penalized for the ones I did take. I just could not measure up and it did not make me want to try to get better.
That was my first experience in understanding the importance of the classroom culture that the teacher sets, though I didn't have the language to talk about it at the time -- I just knew I didn't "like" the class and my grades reflected that.
As Rita Pierson once said, "kids don't learn from people they don't like.
I am thankful that those college professors were not the foundation of my entire education. I had enough strong, caring teachers behind me that I knew those classes were not my whole story.
Now that I'm a teacher, I'm made freshly aware of how important it is for learners to have people that believe in and call out the best from them.
I'm lucky, you see, because I have some administrators that believed in me from the very start -- they saw something in me that I'm not entirely sure was really there. I look back on my first year of teaching and cringe -- it was not good, but I was allowed to grow.
My admin questioned my choices and practices in ways that allowed me an opportunity to find the answer, made time to meet with me for follow-up questions, and made it clear that we were in this teaching-thing together.
Last year was my third year of teaching, a pretty important year for formal observations -- those observations determined whether or not I would continue to have a job and would ultimately receive tenure, a bit of a stamp of approval, if you will. I had the same admin from year two to year three, so he knew what I was bringing to the table and where I was weak. Throughout the year, I worked incredibly hard -- redoing basically every lesson I had to make each one more engaging, better skills-focused, more aligned with the end goals. By my third observation -- the big one -- I was mentally and emotionally gearing up for a final. Surely I would need to prove in this last observation that I had grown in ALLOFTHETHINGS that I needed to, right? There had to be some bar that I could pass -- a very clear, objective pass or fail system, preferably with a letter grade so I would know how much more I needed to improve.
Instead, what I found was an administrator who trusted me and well, basically told me to calm down. The lesson being observed -- as little direct instruction as it had -- was about what I wanted to continue to grow in; he was there to serve me.
Yesterday I started my fourth year of teaching, fully tenured and part of a school for which I am so grateful. It's a surreal feeling. I can say that I've grown a lot ---heaps, loads, reams, tons, etc. -- as a teacher, and I've taken risks in my classroom that eventually bore fruit. My "low-level" students are doing good, high-quality analytical work, and I was allowed to figure out how to get them there (and assisted quite a bit, thanks to some seriously above-and-beyond media center staff). I can tell you that it was a very messy process that involved reworking large chunks of curriculum every single trimester. But, I think because I was believed in by the people in my corner, I knew that I could eventually get my students there.
I only hope that my students get the same message from me. After all, "you say it long enough, it starts to become a part of you."
*Things you should know about me having all the feels:
1) There are quite a few things that I feel very deeply, particularly in working with the people that I do. The world is a heart-breaking place.
2) I am a reflective processor and a bit stunted in my emotional-verbal skills, thus I often feel betrayed by words, so I don't talk about all the feels. This, to me, feels a bit ironic, which you may be thinking as you skim the multitude of words on this page.
3) Because of the above, my having deep emotional throes often don't get verbalized until I have analyzed and have the most accurate words to use. Then, it comes out in a neat little package that probably doesn't really reflect the true nature of having all the feels.
4) I worry this makes me seem like a robot. Or, perhaps, someone who is a little shallow/surface-level, most of the time. I'm working on it.
5) When I am feeling low and need to be revved up, I often listen to/watch slam poetry. Then I believe again that the world can be changed. Words are powerful, man. This Rita Pierson video, though not slam poetry, makes it into that rotation. Alex Dang!, Joshua Bennet, and Rudy Francisco are favorites.
6) This deviation has been brought to you today by the letter "F."
I had several other college professors that did not deliver the same experience for me. Theirs were classes that I dreaded and felt lost in -- I wasn't encouraged to take risks and often was instead penalized for the ones I did take. I just could not measure up and it did not make me want to try to get better.
That was my first experience in understanding the importance of the classroom culture that the teacher sets, though I didn't have the language to talk about it at the time -- I just knew I didn't "like" the class and my grades reflected that.
As Rita Pierson once said, "kids don't learn from people they don't like.
This video gives me all the feels.*
I am thankful that those college professors were not the foundation of my entire education. I had enough strong, caring teachers behind me that I knew those classes were not my whole story.
Now that I'm a teacher, I'm made freshly aware of how important it is for learners to have people that believe in and call out the best from them.
I'm lucky, you see, because I have some administrators that believed in me from the very start -- they saw something in me that I'm not entirely sure was really there. I look back on my first year of teaching and cringe -- it was not good, but I was allowed to grow.
My admin questioned my choices and practices in ways that allowed me an opportunity to find the answer, made time to meet with me for follow-up questions, and made it clear that we were in this teaching-thing together.
Last year was my third year of teaching, a pretty important year for formal observations -- those observations determined whether or not I would continue to have a job and would ultimately receive tenure, a bit of a stamp of approval, if you will. I had the same admin from year two to year three, so he knew what I was bringing to the table and where I was weak. Throughout the year, I worked incredibly hard -- redoing basically every lesson I had to make each one more engaging, better skills-focused, more aligned with the end goals. By my third observation -- the big one -- I was mentally and emotionally gearing up for a final. Surely I would need to prove in this last observation that I had grown in ALLOFTHETHINGS that I needed to, right? There had to be some bar that I could pass -- a very clear, objective pass or fail system, preferably with a letter grade so I would know how much more I needed to improve.
Instead, what I found was an administrator who trusted me and well, basically told me to calm down. The lesson being observed -- as little direct instruction as it had -- was about what I wanted to continue to grow in; he was there to serve me.
Yesterday I started my fourth year of teaching, fully tenured and part of a school for which I am so grateful. It's a surreal feeling. I can say that I've grown a lot ---heaps, loads, reams, tons, etc. -- as a teacher, and I've taken risks in my classroom that eventually bore fruit. My "low-level" students are doing good, high-quality analytical work, and I was allowed to figure out how to get them there (and assisted quite a bit, thanks to some seriously above-and-beyond media center staff). I can tell you that it was a very messy process that involved reworking large chunks of curriculum every single trimester. But, I think because I was believed in by the people in my corner, I knew that I could eventually get my students there.
I only hope that my students get the same message from me. After all, "you say it long enough, it starts to become a part of you."
*Things you should know about me having all the feels:
1) There are quite a few things that I feel very deeply, particularly in working with the people that I do. The world is a heart-breaking place.
2) I am a reflective processor and a bit stunted in my emotional-verbal skills, thus I often feel betrayed by words, so I don't talk about all the feels. This, to me, feels a bit ironic, which you may be thinking as you skim the multitude of words on this page.
3) Because of the above, my having deep emotional throes often don't get verbalized until I have analyzed and have the most accurate words to use. Then, it comes out in a neat little package that probably doesn't really reflect the true nature of having all the feels.
4) I worry this makes me seem like a robot. Or, perhaps, someone who is a little shallow/surface-level, most of the time. I'm working on it.
5) When I am feeling low and need to be revved up, I often listen to/watch slam poetry. Then I believe again that the world can be changed. Words are powerful, man. This Rita Pierson video, though not slam poetry, makes it into that rotation. Alex Dang!, Joshua Bennet, and Rudy Francisco are favorites.
6) This deviation has been brought to you today by the letter "F."
Tuesday, August 25, 2015
teaching tuesday: school supplies
The other day, my friend from my hometown posted this article from The Star Tribune about how Minnesota schools' supply lists are getting a little out of hand.
This is frustrating because she is not in Minnesota and I am.
This is also frustrating because she is a parent and I am a teacher.
We are two advocates that have the same end goal with different understandings of how to get there.
I got pretty worked up about this article, which is mildly absurd considering my school doesn't have any kind of requirements like that (iTunes gift cards? headphones? name-brand supplies?) and generally speaking, the school supply needs in high school are pretty basic: notebook, folder, writing utensil. Honestly, sometimes students complete assignments for me in marker when I am all out of pencils to give to them. Whatever, man, as long as the student can prove to me that they are learning. (Usually, when given that option, they quickly borrow a pencil from someone. Weird how that works.)
I think I also was riled because our school works pretty hard to meet the needs of students. We have a food shelf inside our school that stays stocked year round with groceries, school supplies, personal care items, and more.
Today, I sat outside the food shelf during registration so that every family that came by knew that this resource was available to students. We started doing this last year and saw a large increase in the number and diversity of students accessing the shelf. There were 160 visits to our food shelf in the first four days of school alone. The weekly visit number stayed fairly high like that for the entire month of September.
I am the co-coordinator of the food shelf with another staff member. She is the logistics to my hopes and dreams. It would be far too much to run it on my own and I'm thankful our school believes the shelf is important enough to have two staff members work on it. Honestly, I'm pretty sure she does most of the work.
Just yesterday, a business (who wants no publicity for the donations) hosted their second annual backpack packing event for us. 40 high-quality, high-school-student-sized backpacks were packed for us, plus 10 reusable grocery bags on top of that, plus we were also given multiple boxes of notebooks, more bags, and other things. This is a huge partnership for us, as it allows us to start the school year off really well. I honestly can't tell you how many backpacks we go through in a school year, but it's a lot, and it's a fairly constant need.
The food shelf is probably the thing I'm most proud of that our school does in trying to level the playing field for all students. There are a lot of incredible teachers in our school that are doing a lot of good -- I repeat, good, impactful, long-lasting, life-changing -- work, but sometimes the grand scheme of education and how deeply it can/will ultimately impact students -- all of that good work teachers are doing -- can seem so intangible to the students in the day-to-day grind when there's not enough food at home or school supplies are too expensive or there are just all of these little signs that you don't quite fit in. Our school is able to give students an opportunity to get what they need for their futures in the classroom and out. And that's pretty special.
So, Star Tribune, while you choose to focus on the negatives that come with the beginning of the academic year (when schools are just trying pretty hard to give students a bright future even when it requires more and more stuff in a technologically advancing world), I'm going to be outside the food shelf, squealing like it's Christmas morning** as donations come in and students' eyes light up at the cool new backpack they found.
* I might be Dumbledore.
**This is really not much of an exaggeration of my standard behavior. My co-coordinator is also the calmer of the two of us, and thus why people probably think I'm a student volunteer. I have accepted this.
This is frustrating because she is not in Minnesota and I am.
This is also frustrating because she is a parent and I am a teacher.
We are two advocates that have the same end goal with different understandings of how to get there.
I got pretty worked up about this article, which is mildly absurd considering my school doesn't have any kind of requirements like that (iTunes gift cards? headphones? name-brand supplies?) and generally speaking, the school supply needs in high school are pretty basic: notebook, folder, writing utensil. Honestly, sometimes students complete assignments for me in marker when I am all out of pencils to give to them. Whatever, man, as long as the student can prove to me that they are learning. (Usually, when given that option, they quickly borrow a pencil from someone. Weird how that works.)
I think I also was riled because our school works pretty hard to meet the needs of students. We have a food shelf inside our school that stays stocked year round with groceries, school supplies, personal care items, and more.
Today, I sat outside the food shelf during registration so that every family that came by knew that this resource was available to students. We started doing this last year and saw a large increase in the number and diversity of students accessing the shelf. There were 160 visits to our food shelf in the first four days of school alone. The weekly visit number stayed fairly high like that for the entire month of September.
 |
| I have a pretty energetic sales pitch about the food shelf. And yes, most parents thought I was a student. |
 |
| We went back-to-school shopping in early July after receiving a monetary donation. This year we started buying socks! That's my new hope & dream for the food shelf.* |
 |
| So many great backpacks! We already gave out nearly 1/4 of these today. They've also been nicely displayed since this photo was taken. |
The lady who organizes this backpack donation is the parent of a former student who graduated a couple of years ago -- she learned of the food shelf and decided that we were a worthwhile recipient of their community service. She worked with us to create a very tailored shopping list for the backpacks that they pack for us. Today, I gave the "Top 10 Needs" list out to a parent and this afternoon I happened to be in the office when she came back with 7+ bags of food and toiletries to donate to us. She was actually upset when she realized there was something on the list she forgot to purchase. We have an incredibly supportive community, which is great because our needs keep growing. In a lot of ways, it's actually really easy to run the food shelf because businesses and people keep hearing about us and they contact us about how they can help. It's a little surreal.
The food shelf is probably the thing I'm most proud of that our school does in trying to level the playing field for all students. There are a lot of incredible teachers in our school that are doing a lot of good -- I repeat, good, impactful, long-lasting, life-changing -- work, but sometimes the grand scheme of education and how deeply it can/will ultimately impact students -- all of that good work teachers are doing -- can seem so intangible to the students in the day-to-day grind when there's not enough food at home or school supplies are too expensive or there are just all of these little signs that you don't quite fit in. Our school is able to give students an opportunity to get what they need for their futures in the classroom and out. And that's pretty special.
So, Star Tribune, while you choose to focus on the negatives that come with the beginning of the academic year (when schools are just trying pretty hard to give students a bright future even when it requires more and more stuff in a technologically advancing world), I'm going to be outside the food shelf, squealing like it's Christmas morning** as donations come in and students' eyes light up at the cool new backpack they found.
* I might be Dumbledore.
**This is really not much of an exaggeration of my standard behavior. My co-coordinator is also the calmer of the two of us, and thus why people probably think I'm a student volunteer. I have accepted this.
Tuesday, August 11, 2015
teaching tuesday: learning how to live
In Hannah Anderson's book, Made for More: An Invitation to Live in God's Image, she has a chapter about women's work & education where she writes this question:
"What if learning is less about how to make a living and more about how to live?"
I think, as it has been discussed and exposed elsewhere, that the educational system is, in some ways, broken. It was designed to create workers in an era that doesn't even begin to describe America now. You can see the video below based on a Ted Talk by Sir Ken Robinson to learn more.
I was struck by Hannah's question because I think a lot of what the language arts world has to do with is how to be a person. After all, literature stands the test of time because of something that deeply resonates with the human soul. This article from The Guardian explores research on developing social empathy through literature. I feel very lucky to be working in a field that is so overtly enriching.
The other departments certainly have their place and function and are as vitally important (no, really! I think it's true), but what if we focused a little less on all of the small details of what students are supposedly needing to memorize to be proficient, well-balanced adults according to state standards and stepped back to see the whole picture? Overall, it seems that Math & Science are about how life works and operates, and Social Studies and English are about how to live within that world.
The thing is, I teach people. Literature and writing is my platform, but at the end of the day, these are developing souls with which I am entrusted. I want to do my best to cultivate each individual.
"What if learning is less about how to make a living and more about how to live?"
I think, as it has been discussed and exposed elsewhere, that the educational system is, in some ways, broken. It was designed to create workers in an era that doesn't even begin to describe America now. You can see the video below based on a Ted Talk by Sir Ken Robinson to learn more.
The other departments certainly have their place and function and are as vitally important (no, really! I think it's true), but what if we focused a little less on all of the small details of what students are supposedly needing to memorize to be proficient, well-balanced adults according to state standards and stepped back to see the whole picture? Overall, it seems that Math & Science are about how life works and operates, and Social Studies and English are about how to live within that world.
The thing is, I teach people. Literature and writing is my platform, but at the end of the day, these are developing souls with which I am entrusted. I want to do my best to cultivate each individual.
Tuesday, August 4, 2015
teaching tuesday: finding people to love
Yesterday I had dinner with one of my former students.
I was a little nervous about it because this is new territory for me. I'm still a fairly young high school teacher by comparison, so I like to be careful about things.
On his last day of high school, he caught me in the hallway and we had a bone-crushing hug as tears streamed down his face. I barely kept it together and then cried by myself later. I think I hugged him three times at graduation. In fact, I almost missed the bus back to school.
I knew that this dinner was the right choice.
I picked him up, we headed to my place, and I made dinner as we made small talk -- I told him what I had been up to lately; he talked a little bit about his job and dodged questions about his on-and-off girlfriend. (don't worry, they are together right now)
As we ate, I slaughtered him in a round of Skip-Bo and then he obliterated me in a second game. Smack talk and laughter abounded. I was with... a friend?
I would have never guessed my life as a teacher would include these kinds of moments. Teaching is one of those things that I knew in my bones I would do without really knowing what that meant.
It turns out that teaching has a lot to do with finding people to love when you least expect it. It has a lot to do with loving more people than you ever thought you could and wrenching your heart over their journey. You find people from all over the world to call yours and you are stretched more than feels bearable. There is a fierceness to this life. There are a lot of tears. And there is so much laughter and hope.
I have a job where I am allowed and called to be so very alive. I am grateful.
I was a little nervous about it because this is new territory for me. I'm still a fairly young high school teacher by comparison, so I like to be careful about things.
On his last day of high school, he caught me in the hallway and we had a bone-crushing hug as tears streamed down his face. I barely kept it together and then cried by myself later. I think I hugged him three times at graduation. In fact, I almost missed the bus back to school.
 |
| My associate principal once said to me, "you know you're like his mom, right?" I'll spend my life doing right by him. |
I knew that this dinner was the right choice.
I picked him up, we headed to my place, and I made dinner as we made small talk -- I told him what I had been up to lately; he talked a little bit about his job and dodged questions about his on-and-off girlfriend. (don't worry, they are together right now)
As we ate, I slaughtered him in a round of Skip-Bo and then he obliterated me in a second game. Smack talk and laughter abounded. I was with... a friend?
I would have never guessed my life as a teacher would include these kinds of moments. Teaching is one of those things that I knew in my bones I would do without really knowing what that meant.
It turns out that teaching has a lot to do with finding people to love when you least expect it. It has a lot to do with loving more people than you ever thought you could and wrenching your heart over their journey. You find people from all over the world to call yours and you are stretched more than feels bearable. There is a fierceness to this life. There are a lot of tears. And there is so much laughter and hope.
I have a job where I am allowed and called to be so very alive. I am grateful.
Tuesday, July 28, 2015
teaching tuesday on "raising" students
I have a lot of whirly-swirly thoughts floating in my head and my heart about teaching and what it is that I'm really doing here. (which, not ironically, seems to be the question I ask God the most.)
Beyond, or perhaps, beneath the complexities of managing a diverse, equitable classroom and having good pedagogy and all of those other education buzzwords, mostly I think about how much I love my students. I believe in them and I want them to succeed because even a small taste of success is a step in the right direction for them. Highs for them are highs for me, and lows for them are problems for me to help solve and a listening ear to be given.
I've been thinking more recently about how often those of us who are involved in the lives of the growing, whether that's being a parent, a mentor, a teacher, or what-have-you, seem to be stuck in surviving the day-to-day spinning wheels. When you're replaying the same movie again for your toddler or that one kid shows up, refusing to do any work for you for the third day in a row, it can be hard to think of the larger picture of what we're all really doing here.
What types of people are we raising?
I understand that I'm not "raising" my students in the same way that their parents are, but I spend an hour each day with them and you can bet that I am hoping and dreaming with them and for them with my whole soul. It takes a village, right?
Yes, I want my students to be better writers and debaters and readers and all of those English skills that really are very important. I want them to have the words to voice those deep quavers of the human soul that are what make literature and art and history stand the test of time.
Mostly, I want my students to be brave. And kind, gracious, aware young adults who take chances and know both when to reach out and when to hold back. I want them to forgive seventy times seven and then turn their cheek again. I hope that they know that there's some good in this world, and it's worth fighting for (thanks, Tolkien).
I hope to keep that bigger picture in my mind and heart this year. After all, those are the skills worth developing. How we get there is a different story.
Beyond, or perhaps, beneath the complexities of managing a diverse, equitable classroom and having good pedagogy and all of those other education buzzwords, mostly I think about how much I love my students. I believe in them and I want them to succeed because even a small taste of success is a step in the right direction for them. Highs for them are highs for me, and lows for them are problems for me to help solve and a listening ear to be given.
I've been thinking more recently about how often those of us who are involved in the lives of the growing, whether that's being a parent, a mentor, a teacher, or what-have-you, seem to be stuck in surviving the day-to-day spinning wheels. When you're replaying the same movie again for your toddler or that one kid shows up, refusing to do any work for you for the third day in a row, it can be hard to think of the larger picture of what we're all really doing here.
What types of people are we raising?
I understand that I'm not "raising" my students in the same way that their parents are, but I spend an hour each day with them and you can bet that I am hoping and dreaming with them and for them with my whole soul. It takes a village, right?
Yes, I want my students to be better writers and debaters and readers and all of those English skills that really are very important. I want them to have the words to voice those deep quavers of the human soul that are what make literature and art and history stand the test of time.
Mostly, I want my students to be brave. And kind, gracious, aware young adults who take chances and know both when to reach out and when to hold back. I want them to forgive seventy times seven and then turn their cheek again. I hope that they know that there's some good in this world, and it's worth fighting for (thanks, Tolkien).
I hope to keep that bigger picture in my mind and heart this year. After all, those are the skills worth developing. How we get there is a different story.
Sunday, November 16, 2014
engagement
We are 8 days from the end of the trimester.
Last week felt like I couldn't breathe -- so much grading, professional development classes & a bible study didn't leave much time for getting caught up.
Plus, my 11th graders are working on a video project that until Friday, I was completely freaking out about.
Here are things that I have learned this trimester as I have completely revamped how I teach and think about lessons:
1. Engagement is not flashy.
I thought I needed to have so many youtube clips and real-life things all the time to keep students engaged. Connecting our classroom to their lives is very important, but mostly I need to give them opportunities to engage in the process with me. For the types of classes I teach, that I means I try not to go longer than 15 minutes without students having a chance to talk to each other, work on something, or complete an activity that allows them to process what we are talking about. It has made a huge difference in how my classes feel.
Take a look at your lessons -- are you doing the work & practice when students could easily do that on their phones? For example, instead of giving students video clip examples of all 7 types of conflicts in a story (person vs person, person vs. nature, etc.), I gave them 3 and made them find 4 on their own. They're doing the work for me, practicing identification skills, & showing off things they like. It's a win-win.
2. Classroom management starts with the lesson.
About once a week I have a lesson that just clunks and sputters along like my '93 Pontiac that I had when I was 16. Those days are not great and they leave me frustrated for longer than they should as I try to figure out where the lesson broke down. (On the plus side, only 3 super sucky lessons a week isn't too bad!)
I have some very needy students (let's call us the Hot Mess Brigade - HMB) this trimester, but I'm having a lot less classroom management issues because students are engaged in my lessons.
Having issues? Look at how often students get to participate in your lessons. Taking notes doesn't count! When do your students get to process through writing, talking, and creating, what you're trying to teach them?
Real talk, there are management issues, especially related to cell phones, that come up way too often in my room (calling a dean 3x in one week for ONE CLASS?!). But again, the general vibe is so much better than it felt my first two years because students aren't as bored, disengaged, or confused about what's happening because they have to participate frequently.
3. There is only so much you can do.
I've given myself cut-off times during the day. Some weeks it was 4pm or 7pm or 9pm when I said I was done with all the things, whether that was dishes, cooking, cleaning, grading, planning, or whatever, and then I got to hug my cats and zone out on TV or read or just lay down. I've been a better teacher and human for it. Sorry HMB -- that's why I take forever to grade projects but don't want to pull my hair out as often when you are crazy.
Obviously, that has included this blog -- the heavy reflections were good but overwhelming as I revamped all of my curriculum! Look for more posts this upcoming semester.
4. Give students more than they can handle.
My HMB has a major video project that we're working on. Our last essay was like pulling teeth... so I wasn't feeling too confident. I almost cancelled the project because I was worried that we would just 100% botch it because it was too ambitious for us even though I had worked to scaffold skills better.
Thursday was an okay day as students got used to cameras & played around, but not enough to assuage my fears. Friday, students were discussing the original premise of their videos (what?!), camera angles to use, acting, interviewing, smiling, working together, advocating for themselves... aka, totally engaged & stepping up their game. We have 5 more days, so we'll see how the end product turns out.
I'm not kidding you, I'm so proud of them. I want to type that sentence 18 more times so that I can fully convey how proud of them I am. So proud. Did you know that I'm proud of them?
So, long story short, give students something a little above their heads, support them like crazy, and watch them surprise you & surpass your expectations.
-----------
For those who are in their first two years of teaching, it gets better. So much better. You find your groove, you learn so much more, students respect you more, and the whole process smoothens out and requires less of your ENTIRE LIFE than it did your first year when all the things are straight up crazy.
Last week felt like I couldn't breathe -- so much grading, professional development classes & a bible study didn't leave much time for getting caught up.
Plus, my 11th graders are working on a video project that until Friday, I was completely freaking out about.
Here are things that I have learned this trimester as I have completely revamped how I teach and think about lessons:
1. Engagement is not flashy.
I thought I needed to have so many youtube clips and real-life things all the time to keep students engaged. Connecting our classroom to their lives is very important, but mostly I need to give them opportunities to engage in the process with me. For the types of classes I teach, that I means I try not to go longer than 15 minutes without students having a chance to talk to each other, work on something, or complete an activity that allows them to process what we are talking about. It has made a huge difference in how my classes feel.
Take a look at your lessons -- are you doing the work & practice when students could easily do that on their phones? For example, instead of giving students video clip examples of all 7 types of conflicts in a story (person vs person, person vs. nature, etc.), I gave them 3 and made them find 4 on their own. They're doing the work for me, practicing identification skills, & showing off things they like. It's a win-win.
About once a week I have a lesson that just clunks and sputters along like my '93 Pontiac that I had when I was 16. Those days are not great and they leave me frustrated for longer than they should as I try to figure out where the lesson broke down. (On the plus side, only 3 super sucky lessons a week isn't too bad!)
 |
| Such a beautiful car for 16-year-old me. My cool-ness has only been in decline since. |
I have some very needy students (let's call us the Hot Mess Brigade - HMB) this trimester, but I'm having a lot less classroom management issues because students are engaged in my lessons.
Having issues? Look at how often students get to participate in your lessons. Taking notes doesn't count! When do your students get to process through writing, talking, and creating, what you're trying to teach them?
Real talk, there are management issues, especially related to cell phones, that come up way too often in my room (calling a dean 3x in one week for ONE CLASS?!). But again, the general vibe is so much better than it felt my first two years because students aren't as bored, disengaged, or confused about what's happening because they have to participate frequently.
3. There is only so much you can do.
I've given myself cut-off times during the day. Some weeks it was 4pm or 7pm or 9pm when I said I was done with all the things, whether that was dishes, cooking, cleaning, grading, planning, or whatever, and then I got to hug my cats and zone out on TV or read or just lay down. I've been a better teacher and human for it. Sorry HMB -- that's why I take forever to grade projects but don't want to pull my hair out as often when you are crazy.
Obviously, that has included this blog -- the heavy reflections were good but overwhelming as I revamped all of my curriculum! Look for more posts this upcoming semester.
4. Give students more than they can handle.
My HMB has a major video project that we're working on. Our last essay was like pulling teeth... so I wasn't feeling too confident. I almost cancelled the project because I was worried that we would just 100% botch it because it was too ambitious for us even though I had worked to scaffold skills better.
Thursday was an okay day as students got used to cameras & played around, but not enough to assuage my fears. Friday, students were discussing the original premise of their videos (what?!), camera angles to use, acting, interviewing, smiling, working together, advocating for themselves... aka, totally engaged & stepping up their game. We have 5 more days, so we'll see how the end product turns out.
 |
| This is how students will make you feel when they surpass expectations. They look at you like that other dog, too. |
So, long story short, give students something a little above their heads, support them like crazy, and watch them surprise you & surpass your expectations.
-----------
For those who are in their first two years of teaching, it gets better. So much better. You find your groove, you learn so much more, students respect you more, and the whole process smoothens out and requires less of your ENTIRE LIFE than it did your first year when all the things are straight up crazy.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)